Card-displaying apparatus.



D. W. BARROW.

CARD DISPLAYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED .IULYZZI 1914.

Patented May 25, 1915.

2 SHEETS--SHEET l.

D. W. BARROW.

CARD DISPLAYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATioN f|LED1uLv22,|9x4.

191409349 Patented May 25, 1915.

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:DAVID W. BARROW, 0E CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE.

CARD-DISPLAYING APPARATUS.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1915.

Application led July 22, 1914. Serial N0. 852,505.

T0 all whom t may concern Be it known that l, DAVID W. BARROW, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chattanooga, in the county of Hamilton and State of Tennessee, have invented new and useful Improvements in Card-Displaying Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a card displaying apparatus and has as its principal object the provision of automatic means whereby a plurality of cards may be automatically displayed in turn in a manner to attract the attention of passersby.

A second object of my invention is to provide a simple and eflicient mechanism for producing an effective advertising display.

A final object of my invention resides in the particular arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described.

1n the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a front elevational view of my apparatus. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line A A of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but on an enlarged scale, the central portion of the apparatus being broken away. Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views of the escapement members shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 is a casing having two window apertures such as 2 2 in vertical alinement. lWithin the casing 1 is a number of cards such as 3 which have thereon pictures of matter to be displayed, such as articles of merchandise or manufacturing processes. Each of the cards 3 has iiXed along one edge thereof a rod such as 4 which, it will be understood, is of'somewhat greater length than the cards so that it projects at each end and thus can engage in the slots 5 6 which l provide in the sideboards 7 7 indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and of which there are two mounted within the casing 1.

The slots 5 slope from the rear of the casing 1 toward the front and the slots 6 slope from the front of the casing toward the rear, and it will be understood that the front one of the cards 3, which are suspended from the upper pairs of slots 5, is visible through the top window 2, whereas the front one of the cards suspended from the slots 6 is visible from the lower window. rlhe front ends of the slots 5 and 6 are connected by vertical channels 7 formed by metal strips such as 8 and it will be understood that if the rods or bars 4 are allowed to slide forwardly along slots 5 the front cards will drop down along the channels 7 and be guided into the slots 6 by means of the lower ends 9 of the strips 8. 1t will be seen, moreover, that 1 provide a metal angle 10 on the opposite side of the channels 7 from the member 8, and just above the slots 6, the angle 10 sloping downwardly toward the channel 7 and the end of the slots 6 so as to prevent any cards from falling backward into the casing.

The rods 4 are normally kept from sliding along the slots 5 and 6 by means of two pairs of escapement members such as 11 and 12, respectively, the members 11 being placed at the lower ends of the slots 5 and the members 12 being placed at the lower ends of the slots 6. It will be noticed that the member 11 illustrated in detail in Fig. 5 has an irregular shaped slot cut through one face thereof, this slot opening on the right hand face of the member so as to form a vertical shoulder 13, and opposite the shoulder 13 the slot is cut away so that the ends of the front bar rest against this shoulder as indicated in Fig. 4. Above the shoulder 13 is a sloping face 14 which is inclined downwardly so as to form a point 15 on the opposite side of the slot front and at a level slightly above the upper end of the shoulder 13. rllhe slot in the face of the member 11 passes between the upper end of the shoulder 13 at the point 15 and thereupon broadens out -in a substantially horizontal direction. It will be seen that the slot is not only oblique to the block as a whole, but it also is angular in that it makes a sharp bend. It will be obvious that the rods 4 will be held from moving along the slots 5 so long as the members 11 remain in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4. When, however, the members 11 are moved downwardly, the point 15 will pass down so as to enter between the last one of the members 4 in the row and the neXt to the last, thus holding the neXt to the last one of the rods in position, as well as those behind it. rEhe last rod, however, will be released from the shoulder 13 and at the same time given a push by the sloping wall 14 so that it will slide along the slots and into the passage 7. 1t then drops down into the slot 6 so as to be visible to the lower one of the spectively. and the chains or belts 17 carryV 16 and carry them upwardly. In'theirup.-v

ends of the slots 5. 22 and a spring 23 is provided which forces Windows instead of the top one as previous. Upon the lifting of the member 11 the rods 4'slide along until the front one again rests against the shoulder 13.` It will be obvious that the same operation will be gone through with by the rods and cards in the lower.

series whenever the escapement members 12v are lifted, the members 12 havingshoulders 13, walls 14 and points 15 whose functions are identical with those of the correspondingly numbered parts of the members 11.,

vidual cards from the plates 16 and intro* V ducing them again into the slots 5. This means comprises an elevator having chains or belts such as 17 which run over upper kand lower pairs of rollers such as 18 and 19, re-

lfingers such as 20 which travel upward along the rear edge of the plate 7 between the plates 16 and pick the rods 4 from the plates ward path the rods 4 come into contact with a pivoted arm 21 which extends diagonally across the path of the rods near the upper rlhe rod 21 is pivoted at the arm 21 in a clockwise direction around the edges ofthe shaft 22.

As one of the rods 4 strikes the arm 21,

' it lifts the arm somewhat and is itself drawn `away. fromthe finger 20 by the arm and placed against the rear edge of the plate 7 so that when the rod reaches the end of the slot it readily slips into the same. Carried by the shaft 22 and the rodf21 is a normally horizontal lever 24. Y- Y The elevator chains 17 are driven by a motor such als 31, preferably of theelectric type, by means of belts, one of which is designated as 32 and drives the pulley 33 from the motor pulley 34, while the second belt 35 drives the pulley 36 from the pulley 37, the last named pulley being onv the same u shaft as thepulley 33. The pulley 36 is on ,ist

the same shaft as the top pair of wheels 18. of the conveyer 17. I employ a tension spring 28, shown in Fig. 2,` to keep the elevator belt 17 from running slack. The lower end ofthe spring 28 is connected to a hook 29, the hook being threaded and run f through a nut 30 fixed to the frame.

upper end of the spring 28 is shown as in-v The tegral with ahook 41 which.y engages the shaftA of the wheels 19 of the elevator. 1

It will be understoodthatI do not limit myself to the arrangement shown and de-r fof my invention as are mechanically equivalent to the embodiment shownand described therein. Y

Having thusdescribed my invention, what I claim is ymeans for velevating cards from theV lower guides to the upper guides, and escapement means for controlling the eXit ofv cards from said top andv bottom guides, said escapement means comprising escapement blocks having *oblique slots therethrough for holding the cards or permitting,r the sameto pass'along the guides according to they position ofthe blocks, and means whereby the escapeinent I blocks may be operated to permit the pas-v sage ofcards atl intervals. Y

2. In a device of the class described,an f

escapement mechanism comprising a block having an angular slot therethrough, and

automatic means for operating said block to permit the passage of a car x '3. A car displaying apparatus comprising in combination, a casing provided with v lat least one aperture for the display of cards therethrough, a pair of guides sloping downwardly from rear to front of said Vcasing in such a position as tofhold the front card.

in the guide in front of said aperture, a second pair of guides below said aperture and inchmng downwardly/from front tol rear, means for elevating cards Vfrom saidlower/guide to said upper guide, V.escapement means for controlling the exit of cards from the top and bottomguides, vvand automatic means for operating said escapement means, said escapement means comprising a pivoted lever, a pair of rods depending from said lever and pivoted thereto, yescapement blocks fixed Vat the lower ends of said rods,'said'blocks having angular slots 'there-v through for holdingsaid cards or permit-V ting thesame to pass along the guides according to the position of the blocks.

4. In a device of the class described, an escapement mechanism comprising a block having an Vangular slot therethrough, said slot being so arrangedas to form a shoulder for holding cards and also a point on the opposite side of the'slot from the shoulder for insertion between the end card and the remainder of the row of cards, and automatic means for operating said blocks lto permit the passage of a card.

5. A card displaying apparatus comprising in combination, a casing provided With Llamas an upper and a lower aperture, a pair of guides sloping downwardly from rear to front of said casing in the upper part thereof in such position as to hold the front card in the guide in front of the top aperture, a second pair of guides in said casing inclining downwardly from front to rear and in such position as to hold the front card therein so as to be seen in said lower aperture, means for elevating cards from said lower guide to said upper guide, escapement means for controlling the exit of cards from said top and bottom guides, automatic means for operating said escapement means, said escapement means comprising a pivoted lever, a pair of rods depending from said lever and pivoted thereto, escapement blocks iixed at the lower ends of said rods, said blocks having angular slots therethrough for holding a card or permitting the same to pass along the guides according to the positions of the blocks.

6. A card displaying apparatus comprising in combination, a casing provided with an upper and a lower aperture, a pair of guides sloping downwardly from rear to front of said casing in the upper part thereof in such position as to hold the front card in the guide in front of the top aperture, a second pair of guides in said casing inclining downwardly from front to rear and in such position as to hold the front card therein so as to be seen in'said lower aperture, means for elevating cards from said lower guide to said upper guide, escapement means for controlling the exit of cards from said top and bottom guides, and automatic means for operating said escapement means, said escapement means comprising a pivoted lever, a pair of rods depending from said lever and pivoted thereto, escapement blocks fixed to the lower ends of said rods, said blocks having angular slots therethrough for holding a card or permitting the same to pass along the guides according to the positions of the blocks, and spring means for holding said escapement means in position to prevent passage of a card on the guides.

7. A card displaying apparatus comprising in combination, a casing provided with an upper and a lower aperture, a pair of guides sloping downwardly from rear to front of said casing in the upper part thereof in such position as to hold the front card in the guide in front of the top aperture, a second pair of guides in said casing inclining downwardly from front to rear and in such position as to hold the front card therein so as to be seen in said lower aperture, means for elevating cards from said lower guide to said upper guide, escapement means for controlling the eXit of cards from said top and bottom guides, and automatic means for operating said escapement means, said escapement means comprising a pivoted lever, a pair of rods depending from said lever and pivoted thereto, escapement blocks Xed to the lower ends of said rods, said blocks having angular slots therethrough for holding a card or permitting the same to pass along the guides according to the positions of the blocks, spring means for holding said escapement means in position to prevent passage of a card on the guides, and an arm connected to said lever and projecting over into the path of a card which is being elevated from the lower guide to the upper guide for throwing the escapement blocks into position to permit the passage of a card.

8. In a device of the class described, an escapement mechanism comprising a block having an oblique slot cut across one face thereof, and automatic means for operating said block to permit the passage of a card.

In testimony whereof I afiX my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

DAVID W. BARROW.

Witnesses:

RUSSELL K. ANNIs, FRED. J. HOWARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

